Trump said the troops are welcomed by city and national leaders.
DC sues Trump and calls the deployment of the military a violation of democracy
Officials in Washington, D.C. have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging that his National Guard deployment violated federal law.
- “We’re going to Memphis,” Trump announced.
- Memphis had the highest murder rate in the country in 2024.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said he is deploying the National Guard to Memphis and choosing cities in Republican-controlled countries where the governor welcomes intervention as the next target for criminal repression.
“We’re going to Memphis,” Trump said of Fox and his friends on Fox News, calling Memphis “deeply bothering,” adding that Trump’s Republican ally, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, and city Democrat Paul Young, both are “happy” about the plan. “We’re going to fix that, just like we fixed Washington.”
Memphis, a long-term crime-stricken city, with a population of over 500,000 in the country, had the highest murder rates and other violent crimes in 2024, with 40.6 murders per 100,000 people, according to a USA Today analysis of FBI data.
For weeks, Trump has been discussing plans to send the National Guard to Chicago, but the threat has drawn fierce resistance from the state’s Democratic Gov. JB Pretzker. Last week, Trump is in a Republican-led state like Memphis, citing his desire to cooperate from local and state leaders – New Orleans came to light as a potential target before landing in Memphis.
“I would have preferred to go to Chicago,” Trump said.
Trump says military can also be included in Memphis crackdown
Trump hadn’t said how many National Guard troops are planning to deploy in Memphis, Tennessee’s second largest city after Nashville. “We’ll bring in the troops if necessary,” he said.
Lee’s consent would ease the deployment, allow other states to send national security forces in state-controlled positions, and allow law enforcement directly to assist.
A spokesperson for Lee had previously said that the National Guard had no plans to go to Memphis, but he immediately refused to respond to a request for comment.
As President Trump said, “Memphis is not a ‘problem city’,” said Steve Cohen, a Democrat representing Memphis, in a statement. “There’s a crime problem,” he condemned crime rates in cities regarding the effects of slavery, segregation and underinvestment.
“In the short term, security guards can help police in supportive roles,” Cohen added. “In the long term, Memphis needs federal dollars invested in proven programs.”
Trump has included deploying more than 2,200 National Guard personnel to patrol the streets a month after the criminal crackdown in Washington, D.C. However, unlike other American cities, D.C.’s status as a federal enclave gives Trump special authority to deploy the National Guard, as opposed to the states where governors traditionally oversee mobilization.
On August 11, Trump directed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegses to “coordinate with the governor” and to determine whether the National Guard is necessary in the community.
Trump talks about hearings from FedEx board members
Trump told me about his hearing from members of Memphis-based FedEx’s board of directors about the city’s crime issues.
“He said, ‘When I walked a block from my hotel – they wouldn’t let me do that. They put me in an armored vehicle with bulletproof glass to take me to a block.’ He said it was so bad,” Trump said, without personally identifying.
Trump welcomed the crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C. as a wild success, and even DC mayor Muriel Bowser agreed to an increase in federal presence that could help reduce the number of murders, carjacking and gun crimes.
However, Bowser also says federal intervention has led to “breaking trust” between the community and law enforcement.
Meanwhile, Trump has exaggerated the size of the turnaround, saying the district is “literally no crime,” explaining a city that people were scared to eat at restaurants before the takeover. Violent crime, which has fallen 26% since 2024, when Trump announced his takeover, has already fallen in DC.
The Trump administration faces a National Guard deployment in Washington and a lawsuit from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, after the president ordered security guards to fight the protests.
Contribution: Erin Mansfield, USA Today.
